Croatian Defense Minister Mario Banozic has been dismissed from his post following his involvement in a car crash in which the driver of a vehicle that he hit was killed, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has announced.
The accident occurred on Saturday morning near the city of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia, and was allegedly Banozic’s fault. According to media reports, he was driving his own vehicle, allegedly without insurance, and was trying to pass a truck on a wet, slippery road in thick fog, when he collided with an oncoming van driven by Goran Saric, 40, who was killed instantly.
Banozic sustained serious injuries to his brain, chest, and limbs, and reportedly does not remember the accident. After receiving emergency treatment at Vinkovci General Hospital, he was transported to Osijek Clinical Medical Center.
“We expressed our condolences to the Saric family through the mayor of Vinkovac who visited the wife of Mr. Saric in the early afternoon, we are in contact with the wife of Minister Banozic,” the prime minister said in a statement to journalists.
“In these circumstances, which are truly extraordinary due to this serious traffic accident, I relieved Banozic of his duties as minister of defense,” he added, further confirming that State Secretary Zdravko Jakop had been authorized “to assume all of the necessary responsibilities, so as to ensure that the defense ministry functions in the best possible way.”
Plenkovic did not elaborate on where the ex-defense chief was going or where he was the night before, but said that at the time of the accident, Banozic was off duty. The police investigation is ongoing, and local media reported that no alcohol was found in Banozic’s blood.